$13 eReader?

[Ladyrixx]

I'm wondering, if it doesn't have an actual processor, if you could open it up and attach it to a rasberry pi, and have a very small linux computer/e-reader.

[Dulin's Books]

Originally Posted by Freeshadow

Taking into account which company is announcing it...

I suspect 3M is serious about it http://www.businesswire.com/news/hom...y-Company-txtr

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by tomsem

4GB. That can't be right. That would be good for many more than 5 books, even rendered as 800x600 image files. And over bluetooth it would take forever to fill up.

Still, for the price and the novelty, I'd get one.

I believe the 5 book limit is only for Cache, meaning it can keep track of 5 open books at a time. There is so much misinformation in this thread. Check the wiki and view the web site in the links. This will be available in the US, by the way.

Dale

[rogue_librarian]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

I believe the 5 book limit is only for Cache, meaning it can keep track of 5 open books at a time.

That's not what their German website says.

Check the wiki and view the web site in the links.

I have.

[spindlegirl]

I just hope people don't give this to me for a present because "Oh wow Spindlegirl likes e-readers!". The way it functions requires software and hardware that I don't have, so it would never work for me.

[frostschutz]

The german site ( http://de.txtr.com/beagle/ ) says: up to 5 pre-rendered books.

The english site ( http://us.txtr.com/beagle/ ) says: Number of books cached: Up to 5

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by frostschutz

The german site ( http://de.txtr.com/beagle/ ) says: up to 5 pre-rendered books.

The english site ( http://us.txtr.com/beagle/ ) says: Number of books cached: Up to 5

thanks, pre-rendered and Cached doesn't really mean the same thing. I see now how they really meant 5 books total. I wonder how long a book they are allowing. 5 is a funny limit not a real good binary number. 7 would be better.

Dale

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

thanks, pre-rendered and Cached doesn't really mean the same thing. I see now how they really meant 5 books total. I wonder how long a book they are allowing. 5 is a funny limit not a real good binary number. 7 would be better.

Dale

I would guess they just took some arbitrary (hopefully long) page count and figured out how many books of that length they could fit after converting to their "pre-rendered" format, then set that as the max # books. Doesn't make sense that it is limited to five books, five books like "War and Peace" vs five "Curious George" books are a world apart.

The whole mess doesn't really make any sense to me. I was fairly excited when I first saw the Engadget article and before I saw anything else, but now... and and

[tompe]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

thanks, pre-rendered and Cached doesn't really mean the same thing. I see now how they really meant 5 books total. I wonder how long a book they are allowing. 5 is a funny limit not a real good binary number. 7 would be better.

Dale

They probably meant cached from the phone or from a computer. I assume the device can show one page at a time when it is transferred from the phone.

[latepaul]

Originally Posted by frostschutz

The english site ( http://us.txtr.com/beagle/ ) says: Number of books cached: Up to 5

Two interesting (to me) statements on that site:

describing the Android app:

Tap the book to send it to the txtr beagle where it appears within seconds

So it must be transferring compressed files.

On battery life:

With this concept, two AAA batteries enable you to read 12-15 books per year.

So it is aimed at the more casual reader.

[frostschutz]

Originally Posted by latepaul

describing the Android app:


So it must be transferring compressed files.

Not necessarily.

They're showing it in the interview video (2m:20s):
http://www.lesen.net/ereader/txtr-be...ezeichen-5446/

Transferring a book is two taps on the smartphone (if the book is already known to the smartphone app). And yes he starts reading right away. But he also says that it's still transferring pages.

So yes it appears within seconds and you can start reading within seconds. As long as you don't read faster than the smartphone takes to transfer files, there isn't a problem.

If you only wanted to read the last chapter of a book (say, in a series, before you read the sequel) you'd have to wait until the transfer is nearly complete.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by frostschutz

If you only wanted to read the last chapter of a book (say, in a series, before you read the sequel) you'd have to wait until the transfer is nearly complete.

Plus you'd have to keep the reader close to the phone until its done.
It really sounds like a reading device for people who haven't (yet) read ebooks on phones, PCs, or dedicated devices...
Libraries may have a use for it as part of a turnkey system but anybody who's used a Kindle or a Kobo (to say nothing of Pocketbook, Boox, etc) is just going to be frustrated with the overall user experience.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by latepaul

...On battery life:

So it is aimed at the more casual reader.

I should say so. 12-15 books per year? We have many here who read 12-15 books per month, and I dare say some who average 12-15 books every week.

[frostschutz]

12-15 books would still be huge. I'll believe it when I see it. So far every reader I've had in my hands didn't last for a week without recharging. I'm lucky if I can get through one book, I'm pushing it for two, and three is entirely impossible. Of course since I read with a comfortable font size (6-8 words per line) I have at least twice as many page flips as someone who likes to have the same squinty-eye feeling that paper books offer... but still.

You have to consider that reading 15 books on this thing requires you to transfer books three times, and I assume bluetooth will suck as much energy as wifi. The 12-15 books figure is either based on small books, small fonts (fewest pageflips possible), or is just a theoretical value based on pure pageflip count, not taking standby times into account. Same way any other company is overly optimistic regarding their battery times.

[Hellmark]

Hmmm, might be fun to hack on. For $13? I'd be in for one.